Welcome to Ms. Swanson's Webpage
Smile! Watch for information/order forms in early September.
Childcare provided
Join children and adults around the world to celebrate the benefits of walking to school! It's also a good warm-up for the Whittier Wildcat Fun Run later in the day!
A walk/run-a-thon, kid style! By gathering pledges for the PTO and walking/running laps around the Whittier field to their favorite music and with the Wildcat mascot, Whit...
Here you can find biweekly updates, newsletters, permission slips and more. I will update the site regularly, so please check back.
Sept. 15, 2019
Happy Sunday! Tomorrow morning we will have Gym so kids will need Gym shoes.
We worked very hard on the MAP test last week. A few students still have to finish up some parts of it (or take a test), but when we were working, the students were very focused, quiet, and respectful of one another! I'm not sure what more we can ask of 3rd graders. Students who still have parts to complete will do so this week when teachers who do the make-up tests are able to take them. This will happen throughout the week.
As you might have noticed, we did not start Word Work last week and we won't this week either. We are still doing too many beginning of the year activities to fit in the time. We should start the week of 9/23.
Thanks for your support with the HW. Most students have been getting their work done on a daily basis and your follow through is very helpful!
Finally, don't forget Friday's Potluck at the Daly home. RSVP and get details here.
Sept. 9, 2019
We have unusual HW today. The students have a paper where they are to draw and write about their favorite spot to read. We don't have Math HW because we didn't have a Math lesson since we did MAP Math testing. Most kids took the test, a few didn't quite finish (not a problem since it's not a timed test, they will get a chance to finish this week or next), and a few didn't take it for computer or individual reasons. So far, so good. We will take the Reading test tomorrow and we will be done with this round of MAP testing.
Sept. 7, 2019
Happy Saturday! We finished the week very happily by getting our iPads. We haven't used them yet because we have to set them up now that we have them. It will be exciting next week!
We also had a bus evacuation lesson this week where we learned about safety on the bus, the emergency exits and how to exit safely in an emergency. My message with these potentially scary situations is that we aren't afraid something will happen, but that it is powerful to know what to do in the very unlikely situation that something did happen.
A few kids who were interested and myself planted lettuce, spinach, and and beans during recess on Thursday. Hopefully, we'll be able to harvest our crops and have a salad party before it gets too cold.
Attached is our first newsletter and I will send the evite for the Potluck at the Daly home on 9/20 later this evening. Please keep in touch with any questions or concerns. Ooooo--Monday is Gym! Kids will need Gym shoes.
And....many thanks for coming to Curriculum Night! It's always great to have a chance to explain my plans for the year as well as our routines.
The link to the Evite for the Potluck on 9/20: http://evite.me/9rdsBaEKSB
Aug. 28
We had a wonderful day today although we didn't get through half of what I had planned! Tomorrow the students will have a simple "get to know you" HW assignment and they will come home with their new Planners where they will have the assignment written down. They will also have a strip of paper with the directions.
A request...Tomorrow, we are going to write a small moment story and often the biggest challenge with this is for a student to come up with an idea. They could bring some kind of a summer artifact to help with an idea or you might just take a few minutes to brainstorm possibilities with them. I'm hoping to avoid anyone being stuck without an idea.
I also sent home two papers for you--a purple letter and a white question sheet. Please read them----we are changing the snack plan for this year from what I wrote in our initial letter.
I'm really looking forward to tomorrow as we all continue to get to know one another!
Here are our weekly Specials:
Mondays - Gym
Tuesdays - Spanish and Music
Wednesdays - Art
Thursdays - Library
Fridays - Spanish and Music
***General Information for Parents and Guardians***
Directions and Due Dates for Book Reports / Book Projects